This week at full council, we debated what to do next about HS2. Cllr Jason Stacey, Greenford Green Cllr and former leader of the council lead the debate.
Cllr Mahfouz, Labours transport spokesman led for the Labour group. There was agreement between us and the Labour group that the residents affected by the route had not been given enough consideration unlike residents in Hillingdon who got a tunnel.
Labour put this down to Hillingdon having Conservative MP's and Ealing north having a Labour MP. We put it down to Labours refusal to join the 51M group, which is made up of local authorities along the route and other interested groups, and our Labour MP sitting on the fence.
We asked them to join last year and they refused. To add insult to injury, Cllr Mahfouz said that we never asked them to join the 51M group.
Within a minute of making that claim, Cllr Stacey reminded him that he was asked at the North Northolt Neighbourhood watch meeting and he said he would join if the decision went against the council.
Cllr Stacey also reminded him that the leader of the council had said at a public meeting in Greenford hall that he would consider joining too, but not then.
For Cllr Mahfouz to deny ever being asked to join the group that helped Hillingdon get a tunnel is a bare faced cheek and insulting to residents.
To say it minutes after informing them that Labour in Ealing have no intention of keeping the promise he made to residents to join only adds insult to injury.
The fight continues. Ealing has to join 51M. Sitting on the fence is no longer an option and never was in the first place.